Water and livestock connection

Agriculture is the single largest sector of Pakistan’s economy, which accounts for a quarter of GDP. Despite its relatively lower contribution in the GDP, the importance of agriculture lies in the fact that it employs 44 per cent of the labour force, supports about 75 per cent of the population and accounts for more than 60 per cent of foreign exchange earnings. Textiles comprise 64 per cent and food products 11 per cent of total Pakistani exports-both are largely dependent on agriculture.

Access to water is a dividing line between poverty and prosperity for millions of rural poor of Pakistan. Growing population, increasing competition of water between different sectors and anticipated future climate changes suggest that the country could face serious water shortages and food deficits beyond 2025 if immediate attention is not given to increase water storage and efficiency of water use. Increasing water scarcity has threatened the sustainability of irrigated agriculture in Pakistan, which produces more than 90 percent of grain production in Pakistan. Therefore, there is every motivation to designate more resources to conserve water and increase the productivity of the existing water resources.

Livestock production plays an important role in the rural economy by supplementing family incomes and generating employment particularly among the landless laborers, small and marginal farmers and women. Currently, 35 million of the rural population is engaged in raising livestock having 2-3 buffalo and 5-6 sheep/goat per family. Livestock sub-sector contributes 55 per cent to the agriculture sector and about 12 per cent to the GDP of Pakistan. Total livestock population is estimated at 55 million heads, out of which 23 million or nearly 42 percent are found only in Baluchistan province. Pakistan is a fourth largest milk producing country in the world and a major exporter of meat to the neighboring countries. By developing a growth process powered by small farmers, Pakistan can attain more sustained economic growth and poverty reduction targets.

The available fresh water for livestock production is influenced by several factors such as the type of animal, the physiological status of the animal, physical activity, type and amount of feed, temperature of the ambient environment. The animals that have ad libitum water availability compared with constraints water supply produces twice the amount of milk and butterfat. Similarly, the pregnant animals have higher water demands compared to the non-pregnant. The water is consumed for two major purposes; heat loss and digestion of feedstuff. For livestock production, the water used is divided into two major categories; drinking and process water and water used the production of the animal food like feed, fodder and grazing grasses which is blue as well as green water. For livestock production, the highest amount of water is utilized towards the production of the animal feed. Although these requirements vary from species to species and in different production system, generally the poultry and dairy require higher quantities of water compared to cattle.

Nearly 70 per cent of an animal body consists of water and a constant supply of water is needed to maintain vital physiological functions which are supplied by drinking and eating. However, a handsome amount of water is lost to the environment by evaporation, respiration, urination, and defecation. The pivotal vital functions suffer in case of water discrepancy, that results in the compromised production of milk, meat, and eggs. The environmental temperature also influences the water intake by an animal. The water intake increase with the increasing temperature. Pakistan is considered as one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. Rainfall is meager and ranges from 500 mm in parts of Punjab to about 100 mm per annum in the western parts of the country and does not provide a reliable basis for rain-fed farming. The future food security and economic development of Pakistan depend on the proper management of its agricultural water. There is both an imperative and an opportunity to improve water management because irrigation will continue to play a key role in the future. Despite squeezing water supplies, low efficiency of agricultural water use is a major problem in Pakistan.

In Pakistan, water has acquired an important place for future food security and sustainable and inclusive economic development. Therefore, the frontline challenge is, therefore, to tap available funding to take necessary technical measures for preserving existing water resources and develop new water supplies. It is necessary to mention that freshwater resources depend largely upon the rainfall therefore even small climate variations can make a huge impact on the available water resources of Pakistan. Therefore, Pakistan should take policy initiatives to cope with the projected climate changes and their impact on agricultural economy and environment. This would require improved on-farm water management strategies, development of water-tolerant crops and value addition in crops and livestock sector.

In addition to big storage dams, Pakistan also needs to work on small initiatives to help farmers with access to irrigation water. In rain-fed areas, many farmers have invested in rainwater harvesting structures for supplemental irrigation and for recharging aquifers. These structures have been built by individuals as well as by local groups and/or communities. These initiatives have helped small farmers to get better yields as compared to the earlier time when these structures were not in place. Therefore, supporting these initiatives and helping to sustain them will be crucial to producing more food, increase current levels of water use efficiency and fight poverty.

For marginal areas, development of integrated crop-livestock technological packages to diversify incomes of farmers should be emphasized. Salt-tolerant forage plants are efficient in producing biomass of high nutrient value, therefore, could be a game changer for the livelihood of rural communities living in these areas. Above all, Pakistan needs to invest in institutions to enable them to undertake systematic sets of legislation and organizational changes to solve the management issues as well as delivering benefits to the people because without these strings chances of success will be very limited.

—Department of Anatomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad